Staff Sgt. Oscar D. Vargas-Medina called his mother in Florida to say that her Mother''s Day present was on its way to her.
Francia Lopez said he told her: &quot;Mommy, on Mother''s Day, please be home because I sent you a surprise.&quot;
Vargas-Medina, 32, of Chicago, was killed May 1 in Iraq when his convoy was attacked. He was based at Schofield Barracks in Honolulu.
&quot;I feel destroyed. He was my first born and he had no father,&quot; said Lopez, of Kissimmee, Fla. &quot;I raised him by myself. He was my
life.&quot;
Lopez said her son had been deployed to Kosovo, Korea and Kuwait during 12 years in the Army.
She came to the United States from Cali, Colombia, in 1981. She said Vargas-Medina joined the ROTC program at his Chicago high school before entering the military.
&quot;He loved the Army. He used to say the Army is the best place to be. He felt strongly about going to Iraq. He felt it was necessary to fight for their freedom,&quot; Lopez said.